Honda is hard at work back at its Tochigi engine facility in Japan as it looks to close the gap to rival engine manufacturers at the Belgian Grand Prix when the season resumes after the summer break.
However Honda’s engineers won’t be taking a two-week break like the teams as they, along with Formula 1’s other engine suppliers, are exempt.
“There is no holiday for us unless something unexpected happens in the factory. We will continue to work hard,” Honda’s motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai confirmed.
Meanwhile they will spend three tokens on their next upgrade for the Belgian GP, leaving them with four to use later in the season, according to an unnamed Honda engineer.
“Before the end of the season we also hope to take advantage of the other four tokens that will remain [after this upgrade],” they told Omnicorse.
“We hope to gain 15 horse power from the changes,” he admitted, rubbishing claims it could be worth as much as 50hp. “A small step in the long chase of Mercedes.
“We are aware that it is late to be competitive, but we’re working like crazy to try to recover.”